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within 6 months of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

Student Film Wins IES Study Abroad Film Festival Grand Prize

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A film by Hope College senior Ismael Byers of Grand Blanc about spending the spring
semester in Santiago, Chile, has won the grand prize in the 2017 IES Abroad Study
Abroad Film Festival.

The announcement was made during the IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival, held on Wednesday, Nov.
1, at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago. The film, “Solitude: A Companion
Abroad,” was selected through an online public vote during October from among three
finalists that a jury had previously chosen out of 93 submissions.

Byers co-directed “Solitude: A Companion Abroad” with Kyle Arnold, a student from
Ithaca College who was also in Santiago this past spring. Byers produced the film,
and Arnold wrote the script.

The November 1 film festival was hosted by Kate Flannery, who was Meredith on the
television show “The Office,” and included a question-and-answer session with all
of the finalists. Byers and Arnold received a $1,500 cash prize and a one-year distribution
deal with INDISTRY TV, and the next day were interviewed with Flannery on Chicago
morning talk shows.

IES Abroad is a leading not-for-profit organization that provides access to study-abroad and
internship opportunities in more than 20 countries and 34 locations around the world.
The film competition, first held in 2014, provides students a platform to voice their
global journey through their own words and video footage, capturing unique views into
their study-abroad experiences.

The jury that selected the three finalists consisted of directors, editors, producers
and screenwriters who are either IES Abroad film studies faculty from their international
centers or IES Abroad alumni. According to IES Study Abroad, more than 2,000 votes
were cast during the open voting in October.

“Solitude: A Companion Abroad” explores the way that quiet moments in solitude were
themselves valuable, providing opportunities to reflect on his other experiences and
their impact. Features of the six-minute, 44-second short film include scenes of
travel in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile as well as everyday activity such as breakfast,
and brief interviews with several students who have studied abroad.

Byers, who is majoring in biology and Spanish, participated in IES Abroad’s Santiago-Health
Studies program from February to July. Designed for advanced Spanish students in
health-related majors, the program included a Spanish course geared toward aspiring
health-care providers, a health studies seminar, clinical observation opportunities
and a field placement (the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s School of Nursing
for Byers).

Byers hopes to attend medical school and pursue a dual degree in medicine and public
health after graduating from Hope, and IES Abroad’s Santiago program combined his
two majors and his career goals ideally. He especially appreciated, though, the lessons
that weren’t as obvious from an academic perspective.

“The medical experience was outstanding, but I think I learned more from the actual
life experience of being abroad,” he said.

As explored in the film, for example, he noted that there were times, particularly
at first, that he felt isolated while in Santiago, where he didn’t know many people
when he arrived and everything was initially unfamiliar. With time that changed,
but along the way he also recognized that solitude itself could be valuable.

“The video aims to show that solitude can be a teacher because it allows you to reflect,
and gives you space to see opportunities and lessons even in the mundane,” he said.
“That’s not even something you have to go abroad to learn, because it isn’t unique
to being in a foreign country.”

In addition to developing the film with Arnold, Byers wrote several blog entries for
the Off-Campus Study program about his experiences. They are available online.

Annual Provost’s Recognition Event Honors Faculty

Hope College honored faculty and staff members for service to the college and other professional activity during the annual faculty recognition event coordinated by the Provost’s Office and held at the Maas Center auditorium on Tuesday, Jan. 10.